Chapter 339: Shattered Star Pavilion (I)

"..."

Watching Gu Ye let out a hearty laugh with her cute face and sweet voice, Lin Zheyu felt rather strange. Still, he only dared to complain inwardly and did not dare to say it aloud. Gu Ye was nothing like Senior Sister Wen Zi. Although Senior Sister Wen Zi was as forthright as a man and carried herself openly and generously, her personality was gentle and her thoughts delicate.

Senior Sister Gu Ye was different. She was a bona fide Vajra Barbie, with a temperament even more ferocious than a reckless brute. If Lin Zheyu dared to speak his inner thoughts from just now, he would definitely be pinned to the ground and rubbed into the dirt by Gu Ye.

Lin Zheyu followed Gu Ye into Soaring Serpent Mountain. The entire mountain had been renovated quite well, with plots of medicinal fields laid out in an orderly pattern.

"How did you escape from those yao martial artists just now?" Gu Ye asked curiously.

She had been locked in combat with that half-yao for quite some time, and the two were almost evenly matched. The gap in their strength was not very large, and even if one side managed to win after going all out, it would only be a miserable victory. As such, neither the half-yao nor Gu Ye truly pushed things to a life and death struggle.

After the two fought for a while, the half-yao seemed worried that the disturbance here would be discovered and that reinforcements might arrive. At the same time, he assumed Lin Zheyu had already been dealt with, so he left on his own. Gu Ye followed the traces he had left behind and tracked them all the way to the battlefield, only to find the corpses of several yao martial artists, with no sign of him.

"My lightness and movement techniques are good, and I also used a secret art to shake them off. If a senior had not stepped in in time to deal with them, I would have run out of stamina and been caught very quickly," Lin Zheyu said with a smile. This was an excuse he had prepared long ago.

"Did you see clearly what the senior who made the move looked like?" Gu Ye asked. Though she was somewhat suspicious, she still accepted Lin Zheyu's explanation.

No matter how she thought about it, she could not imagine how a Marrow Refining realm martial artist could so cleanly and decisively kill five yao martial artists with Force Transformation realm strength. Even the number one on the Hidden Dragon List throughout the ages could not achieve such a feat, although most of them did possess the ability to fight above their level and rival Force Transformation realm martial artists.

If he were facing just one of those five yao martial artists alone, there would still be a chance to defeat them, but it would not be so clean and decisive and would only end in a miserable victory. Facing all five at once, there would be no chance at all. Thus, Gu Ye did not doubt Lin Zheyu's words. What puzzled her was which senior had actually made the move. Gu Ye examined the traces at the scene and could not sense the slightest remnant of true strength aura.

"No. I was focused on escaping at the time," Lin Zheyu said as he shook his head.

"

Mhm

, what you did was the right choice. The one who acted should have been a powerful senior expert. I did not sense any remaining true strength aura at the scene. That senior's control over true strength is terrifying, and they may already be on the path to becoming a Grandmaster realm martial artist," Gu Ye said.

Any martial artist who could cultivate true strength to such a level would, without exception, possess terrifying power. If Gu Ye knew that the one who acted had not a trace of true strength at all and relied instead on pure physical power driven by overwhelmingly powerful blood qi, she would likely be left utterly stunned.

Gu Ye was very familiar with Soaring Serpent Mountain, having stood guard here many times before. Upon seeing the two arrive, the disciples and sect members along the way greeted them respectfully. All along the path, Gu Ye was controlling the true strength within her body to expel the remaining Baleful Yin force clinging to her. Wisps of mixed smoke continuously steamed up from her body.

"Senior Sister, is this Baleful Yin force really that troublesome?" Lin Zheyu asked curiously as he watched the Baleful Yin force steaming off Gu Ye.

When he expelled it using blood qi, it had felt fairly easy, aside from the large consumption of blood qi. Logically speaking, true strength was even more powerful than blood qi, so dealing with the remaining Baleful Yin force should have been even easier.

"Ordinary yao martial artists do not have Baleful Yin force that is this troublesome. However, that person was different. He did not follow the orthodox path of yao martial artists, but instead turned himself into a demon, cultivating his body into a half-yao. The Baleful Yin force within him has mostly transformed into demon essence. Demon essence refers to the special energy possessed by pure yaos and demons," Gu Ye explained.

The demon essence possessed by yaos and demons was fundamentally extremely powerful, far surpassing the true strength of martial artists. Pure yaos and demons were terrifyingly strong, with even the weakest among them being dreadful existences in the Grandmaster realm. The legends Lin Zheyu had previously heard in Songyi City about yaos, demons, and living corpses did not refer to pure yaos and demons at all.

Those living corpses, yaos, and demons were, in truth, beings that had come into contact with Baleful Yin force and were assimilated by it, transforming into mindless monsters driven solely by the desire to kill. Most living corpses were created intentionally, using ancient cultivation methods in a delusional attempt to achieve Immortality through Baleful Yin force. In the end, their consciousness was erased by the Baleful Yin force, yet they forged bodies of iron skin and bronze bones.

Ordinary yaos and demons, on the other hand, were passive cases. Most were slowly eroded and assimilated after prolonged contact with Baleful Yin force. Living corpses, ordinary yaos, and demons were collectively referred to by Gu Ye with a specific term: demon puppets. Among yaos and demons, there existed a strict bloodline hierarchy, much like vampires from a previous life. Pure yaos and demons could easily control living corpses and monsters that had become ordinary yaos and demons through Baleful Yin force erosion, treating them like puppets. This was precisely how the name demon puppet came to be.

"Pure yaos and demons can control demon puppets? That means pure yaos and demons possess intelligence?" Lin Zheyu asked curiously.

He had only encountered living corpses before and had not even seen an ordinary yao or demon, let alone a pure yao or demon. Most of his understanding of yaos and demons came from scattered records in books and from what others had told him.

"That's right. Pure yaos and demons are extremely terrifying, but within Great Wei territory, they generally do not dare to show themselves, so you do not need to worry for now," Gu Ye said with a smile.

The two continued onward and arrived at the mid-slope of Soaring Serpent Mountain. The area had been leveled into flat ground, with dozens of wooden houses built from timber.

"Greetings, Martial Uncle."

The two arrived at the largest courtyard in the center and greeted the man standing at the entrance.

The man was named Meng Liuyuan. He appeared to be a middle-aged man in his fifties, with a burly and sturdy build, though compared to Gu Ye, he seemed somewhat smaller. Meng Liuyuan was very strong, but still some distance from the peak of the Force Transformation realm. He was of the same generation as Huang Baizhong, so Lin Zheyu and the others addressed him as martial uncle.

"You're here. Did you encounter an attack on the way?" Meng Liuyuan nodded slightly and immediately noticed the injuries on Gu Ye.

On the way up the mountain, the demon essence within Gu Ye had already been expelled, but a considerable amount of aura still lingered.

"We ran into a half-yao, but fortunately, it was dangerous without disaster. People from the Yao Heavenly Palace can actually transform into half-yaos now. No wonder they can control the movements of demon puppets," Gu Ye said, a hint of gravity in her eyes.

"It's good that you're fine. Half-yaos do not have sufficient control over demon puppets. They use a different method. Come inside and sit. I'll tell you about the upcoming task," Meng Liuyuan said.

***

The duty of guarding Soaring Serpent Mountain was simple. On ordinary days, one only needed to patrol when free and strike down any attackers encountered. In the past, a single Force Transformation realm expert, along with several Marrow Refining realm martial artists, was sufficient. However, the current situation was tense. Because Soaring Serpent Mountain cultivated a large number of treasure herbs, it had become a target, and people frequently came to seek revenge and cause destruction.

"Martial Uncle, this will be your residence. If you need anything, just give the order," a young man said respectfully.

His name was Yang Guanbin. He was of the same generation as Huang Youwei and possessed Marrow Refining realm strength, but his latent potential had already been exhausted, leaving little hope of advancing to the Force Transformation realm.

"Is there heavy armor here for cultivation?" Lin Zheyu added, "A deep pool would also do."

"There is heavy armor, but it only weighs five hundred kilograms and may not be suitable for you. There is also a deep pool at the foot of the mountain, but it is just an ordinary deep pool, with the deepest point being around ten plus meters," Yang Guanbin said.

He had heard of this martial uncle's cultivation method, which they called the extreme cultivation method. Yang Guanbin had tried it himself and was astonished to discover that his bottleneck had actually loosened. Toward this martial uncle, Yang Guanbin felt deep gratitude and respect.

"

Mhm

, I understand. You go about your work. I'll familiarize myself with the place first," Lin Zheyu said.

***

In the mountain forest, at the spot where Lin Zheyu had killed five yao martial artists, a burly figure stood amid the wrecked woodland, staring at the five headless corpses with an ugly expression.

No true strength aura was left behind. That was a formidable expert. Could it be that someone is secretly protecting that kid?

Duan Ping's thoughts raced.

At the scene, there were only the auras of the five yao martial artists. He did not detect the slightest trace of human blood, clearly indicating that Lin Zheyu had not even been injured.

"I'll head back first and report to my lord," Duan Ping muttered to himself. His figure flickered and vanished from the spot in an instant. Since they had come to Soaring Serpent Mountain, there would be no shortage of methods and opportunities to make a move against Lin Zheyu.

***

Time slowly passed. It was the second day since Lin Zheyu arrived at Soaring Serpent Mountain. At dawn, the sky was only faintly lit. A thin layer of mist shrouded the mountain forest.

Splash, splash~.

In the pool at the foot of the mountain, Lin Zheyu surfaced from the water, took a deep breath, and then dove back down toward the bottom of the pool.

"Only on his second day and already cultivating this crazily. Just like the rumors say, he really is a cultivation fanatic."

By the edge of the pool, Gu Ye looked at Lin Zheyu diving underwater and shook her head, somewhat speechless.

She waited for a while. More than ten minutes later, when she saw Lin Zheyu surface, she called out to remind him, "Junior Brother, do not exhaust all your stamina. It would be troublesome if we ran into an enemy attack."

"

Mhm

, I will be careful," Lin Zheyu replied.

Turning around, he plunged back into the water and began another round of cultivation.

"You will be careful? Careful, my ass! You have already been cultivating for over two hours, and you are still going," Gu Ye said, utterly speechless.

She did not know whether it had been a mistake for the sect master and Elder Yang to send Lin Zheyu here. With how insanely this kid cultivated, if they suddenly encountered an enemy attack, he would be unable to help at all.

"Guanbin, from now on, when Lin Zheyu cultivates here, you take some people to guard nearby and protect his safety," Gu Ye instructed.

"Yes, Martial Aunt," Yang Guanbin replied respectfully.

He looked toward Lin Zheyu cultivating in the deep pool, feeling an itch in his heart and wanting to cultivate alongside him. However, Yang Guanbin knew this was not the right situation. He still had to patrol and ensure safety here. This pool was located deep within Soaring Serpent Mountain, and no herbs were planted nearby. Even if enemies came, they would not come here. The probability of something happening while Lin Zheyu cultivated here was extremely low. Once he obtained Origin Force, he would have a safeguard and would no longer need to worry about exhausting his stamina.